2018 draft talk

[diamondbull424]

5 hours ago, Danand said:

I don't doubt he might be able to be a pass catching back, but that clip doesn't prove much. I haven't seen the wiggle in short areas that makes me believe he will be that effective as a pass catching back. Derrius Guice would be a better option. But as I said before, I believe Penny would fit very well with what we have, and then Allen, Dixon or Collins could be the pass catching back.

If Collins could improve his pass catching, we could get him outside in the open, where he can combine his power and explosive ability to gain easy yards

Hands is kind of one of those things that are either natural or aren’t. I’d rather trust that Penny could improve his lateral agility than to trust in Collins improving his hands. And I agree with Guice. My only qualms with him is durability and value. It might cost our 1st round pick to get him. If it does I’d rather go in another direction.

[DreamKid]

Quick WIR mock Pre Combine-

Round 1: Derwin James-LB/S Florida State, Unique and special player that will never leave the field, he not only can shut down receiving backs, and TEs(a huge problem for us), he also has a legitimate no smoke ability to cover some WRs as well. He is a sound tackler and tone setting hitter, with ball and return skills like Raven defenders of old. A locker room and field leader that would bring back an edge to a unit that sorely needs one and would offset Mosley's soft tone. I view him as a superstar Will in our defense and he should continue to grow into his frame. His ability to seamlessly roll into Tony Jefferson's position would give us many diverse blitz options, another part of the game he excels at. He even has some edge ability as a pass rusher, too many tools in the toolbox to pass on him. I think the Sean Taylor/Kam Chancellor comps will get fans to chill till day 2 for a skill position pick if it's clearly stated how he'll be a Will with skills and not a S riding the bench. As I've stated before having a sub 4.5 linebacker hybrid with sick coverage skills in a division that could potentially house Bell, Barkley, and Mixon next year, will be a huge huge plus for us. Steve said the team had been overthinking picks well here you go, ILB is a need, coverage of TEs has been an issue so severe it's cost us games, no WR on the board matches his value, nothing to overthink pick the superstar. 

 

Round 2: James Washington-WRF/WRS Oklahoma State, We go James to James, conjuring images of our Smith to Smith draft in 2011, and hopefully replicating the same success that 1st round defender and 2nd round pass catcher duo did for us. This is a bit of a representative pick as we don't know what WR will be there, but one will be and we will take one. I'm assuming Gallup is gone, sorry DB. Washington's limited route tree and being under 6'0 should drop him to this point and as has been mentioned, lucky for us we need whatever will. He can play inside or out, excels at tracking the ball deep and only rarely fails to. 50/50 ability is there and has YAC ability too but his legs go dead on first contact too much for someone with his build. I think he'll continue to get stronger as he ages. He has super long arms to offset coming in under 6'0 and can ****** the ball away from his frame very easily. His 3 cone is more important than his 40 to me, I want to see that COD ability show up in testing and I think it will. I've seen him win in a variety of ways and he reminds me of Anquan Boldin with his build and competitiveness, his weird ability to constantly beat defenders deep shows a gear Boldin lacked as well. He doesn't have Q's hand strength and I've seen the ball jostle too much when he gets hit but that part of his game should also hammer out. Great and willing blocker that would immediately help our run game, powerfully driving defenders away from the play with his long reach, should make him a bigger target for the FO because of it. He did fine against press during the Senior Bowl and didn't fail his reputation at the event. A great foundation pick to begin rebuilding our receiving corps with and one that should excite the fan base.

 

Round 3: Anthony Miller-WR Memphis or Deontay Burnett-WR USC, Whoever is available, Miller's stock has taken a tumble after opting out of the Senior Bowl (due to injury) and with his age being what it is a bad combination is brewing that could drop him. He won't blow up the combine even if he is able to participate. Our FO made it clear that they want receivers who can actually catch and Miller is just that and more. He has enough speed to keep DBs from lording him but it's his hands and competitive nature that separate him from the pack. He and Washington follow a P/P/P( polish, production, purpose) formula whereas our previous picks at the position have trended towards H/W/S busts and I think it's time we try the former. He's a walk on that has carried a chip larger than he on his back the entirety of his time at Memphis and he enjoys proving everyone in the nation that watches him wrong. Concentration, body control, and hand strength have allowed him to have some truly special games and there's some YAC in him as well. Slippery more so than explosive but reliable and can be fed targets up and down a drive. He could be a DPI machine at the next level drawing defenders into penalties.

Deontay Burnett is a favorite of mine and I think he will rise during the draft process beyond the questionable 4th round grade I've seen tossed around on him. He's one of if not the youngest receivers in the draft whereas I think Miller is the oldest, so choosing between them will really come down to what the FO values. Deontay Burnett can hurt teams in a variety of ways but I'd think his primary role for us would be as a play making slot weapon. He has speed and quickness and can operate in and out near the LOS but also can take the top off of a defense. He's slight of frame but you wouldn't know it by his toughness, he's no punk out there and isn't some soft quicks and speed guy. He's got strong and tough hands that are reliable and he will hurt teams badly aftet the catch. He's got good vision and has a savvy beyond his years. He isn't Tavon Young, I view him more as a Desean Jackson or Tyreek Hill type player but lacking their crazy gears. Definitely an ascending player and one we would be lucky to have.

 

 

Or

 

 

Round 3(Comp): Ian Thomas-TE Indiana, Get ready to hear this name a lot and know that it isn't a bad thing. A Baltimore kid who lost both his parents by age 9 and didn't let it hold him back, turning himself into a humble workhouse that played at Nassau Community College for two years before going to Indiana. He's young and still growing into himself at the position but he profiles as a do it all weapon at the next level. Athletically he isn't lacking and can do everything asked of a TE1, separate with quickness, win with strong hands and body control, block, everything. He's being overshadowed by better pure receiving threats in the draft but he has upside as that and already is farther along as a blocker. I seem him immediately replacing Watson and adding some much needed impact and potential to our group of blockers at the position. A quick fan favorite too.

 

 

Round 4: Brandon Parker-OT North Carolina A&T, An easy mover from a small school, he had his ups and downs at the Senior Bowl but if this team can develop Rick Wagner, Parker could be a Hall of Famer. This team has no one we can trust to even get us out of a game when the oft injured Ronnie Stanley goes down and Parker has the ability to grow into a great bookend that can fill in for Stanley when needed. Getting some new life at the position suits us in a variety of ways but it isn't too early to start thinking about how much money Stanley will command and he isn't a phenom out there. Taking some leverage away from him with our dearth of talent at the position being what it is by getting a developmental guy in house is good business and strategy. He needs to continue packing on the muscle and building his anchor but he should develop into a great tackle in the league.

 

 

Round 5: Bradley Bozeman-C Alabama, a big fat boy. Jensen is about to make 100 mill, and Skura will get a look but the team won't be comfortable going into training camp with him as the lead option. Matt is a good depth piece, but I don't think he has the anchor to play center in the AFC North against some of the big NTs we see. Enter Bradley Bozeman, he proved his anchor all week during practices at the Senior Bowl and led the South Squad during the game. He struggled with quickness maybe once during the 1 on 1 drills, and if it weren't such a deep center class we couldn't get him this late. It sucks to be forced into moving on from Ryan and we'll certainly be more limited without him, he had great movement skills for a center, but Bradley can be a force in the run game and isn't a liability with his sturdy anchor. Bama pick for the Ravens narrative fulfilled and we're without a hole on the offensive line. Note: First mocked to us in the 5th by DB a month ago, he deserves credit, it was a great pick/prediction that's held up.

 

 

 

Round 6: Justin Watson-WR Penn, 6'2.5, 213 pounds, 9 3/4 hands with 33 3/4 inch arms. Watson is a big athlete from the Ivy league that put up huge production. Dipping into the Ivy League hasn't hurt us before and it won't this time. Big strong hands, circus catch ability, smooth runner, there just aren't many weaknesses to his game. He understands what it takes to be a number one option and didn't let his team down on or off the field. I was a big fan of Jaleel Scott who dropped everything during Senior Bowl week, Watson was the opposite progressing from East-West to showing out during the Senior Bowl practices and games, he earned his attention. I know Eric sat in those bleachers and watched Watson make play after play and won't soon forget it. Picking him, we add another highly productive workhorse that is hungry and all these new dogs will battle against each other and forge a group we can be proud of.

One hander during practice- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHvPJ0izqgE

34 yard catch during the Senior Bowl game- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPdGEDjziM8

 

 

 

 

Round 7: Quadree Henderson-RS/WRS pitt, I don't even know if we have a 7th round pick because of the Bergstrom trade but here we go. An exciting player for a usually boring round. Henderson is an electric return man with gadget upside, it's hard to gauge guys like this stock this early but he's a fun 7th round pick. Some scat back ability and a gadget player's tool chest. He could add a wrinkle on offense for us if we needed a spark here and there. Delaware kid that was forced to slum it at pitt, the pain it would bring for some to watch him play for the Ravens would be great.

___________________________________________________________________________________

[berlin calling]

you sure this team knows how to use a guy like James properly? they'd probably play him deep and after his rookie season everybody would be lamenting a wasted pick.

i like the guy but not the fit unfortunately.

[Danand]

14 hours ago, diamondbull424 said:

Hands is kind of one of those things that are either natural or aren’t. I’d rather trust that Penny could improve his lateral agility than to trust in Collins improving his hands. And I agree with Guice. My only qualms with him is durability and value. It might cost our 1st round pick to get him. If it does I’d rather go in another direction.

Imo you could say the stuff about lateral ability as as having natural hands. I haven't seen anything from Collins that make me believe he couldn't improve his catching ability with more practice.

If we build the offense around the running game with a tackle in the 1. round, Rashaad Penny in the 2. round, and add a tight end and two receivers 1 outside receiver and 1 slot receiver, we have the building blocks that could support Flacco.

[drd23]

Derwin James, James Washington, Anthony Miller as the first three picks

[DreamKid]

Raven Flock Family in the draft:

Zach Orr's brother: Nick Orr FS TCU

 http://www.gofrogs.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/nick_orr_885483.html

 

 

Michael Pierce's brother: Myles Pierce ILB Citadel

 

 

[diamondbull424]

@DreamKid

In terms of the mock draft I love it.

I’m  more a fan of the Deontay Burnett selection over Miller there though. One thing I’m starting to notice with Miller is that he was force fed the ball a lot in tight windows. That’s not a problem. But Flacco typically tries to play it safe and thus likes to go for the guy that creates separation.

Burnett just turned 20 years old. And he’s also functionally strong. So I think you throw him in an NFL conditioning program and he could probably max out his frame with another 20 lbs at about 190lbs with no loss of quickness and explosiveness. Speaking of he tends to get separation and with coaching, he could develop his route running to get even more. I like how he can make plays once the ball is in his hands as well. I’d say he plays similar to Michael Gallup, but just a younger version, so he could eventually catchup and surpass him with the right coaching. He’s also going to be a good contrast to James Washington. Washington will be a successful receiver in the pros, I believe because he has the right mindset for it. Worst case scenario he can come in and replace Mike Wallace as our deep threat, only trading speed for better hands. And Burnett can, as a young receiver, just focus on adding value on special teams and essentially redshirt as he builds up his body, with a few chances to shine every now and again to see if he can’t hit the ground running.

Derwin James is my favorite player in this draft class. I like Saquon Barkley, but I would take James first. Mainly because of how deep the RB class is this year, but still. James is a game changer and has elite athleticism and measurables. I can’t see him falling, but he’s literally the only player that I wouldn’t want to trade back in the 1st if he’s on the clock.

I love the Brandon Parker selection. I have him rated higher than a lot of other tackles in this class. Highly athletic, probably the most athletic in this class. I think he could come in immediately and compete for that RT position. Would love for Bozeman to fall. Many in the NFL don’t think he can be a center and will have to play guard. But he’s smart and Harbaugh likes the huge OL talents.

I’m not really sure how I feel about three WRs in the draft (but I guess it could be worse... we could go all defense in the draft again.?) That said what you spoke on with Justin Watson definitely makes him sound like a Raven. A guy that has had to work his way up to gain attention. Speaking of receivers, I’ll close with the fact that I wish we were getting Mike Gesicki here, but like you said you didn’t think he would be available, which I can understand. But if he somehow made it to our third round pick, I’d easily slot him there and then go after Burnett with our comp selection. When I watch Thomas on tape, I just don’t get excited. In fact, I don’t really get excited by any of this class of TEs very much, but when I do, it’s usually by Gesicki and Goedert.

[Danand]

I still see the best value in retaining Jensen if he commands less money than a skillplayer like Jarvis Landry for example. Every time I think of how we can improve our offense, I see the difference in protection in the first half of the season compared to the second half. Flacco did more with less talent late in the year than early in the year simply because the protection was better and that also helped our running game.

Retaining Jensen removes one question mark on the offensive line, and the worst case scenario then is to find a RT, although we aren't forced. Letting Jensen go and we have to retool our oline on 1-2 spots again next season.

Also, as DeCosta said, the value at WR seems to be in the second round. So far, I think I would be comfortable picking Ridley, Sutton, Kirk, Washington, Gallup, Miller, Burnett there - and I am probably forgetting someone.

If we got Jensen locked down, a receiver in the 2. round, we have the option of picking BPA in the first round and then adding offense whereever the value is in the draft.

Btw. Nick Orr actually looks quite promising. I'm going to look at him a little more. Pierces brother though doesn't seem athletic enough to make an NFL roster. Too sluggish and straigh linish and never look really smooth on the field.

[paraven]

1 hour ago, Danand said:

I still see the best value in retaining Jensen if he commands less money than a skillplayer like Jarvis Landry for example. Every time I think of how we can improve our offense, I see the difference in protection in the first half of the season compared to the second half. Flacco did more with less talent late in the year than early in the year simply because the protection was better and that also helped our running game.

Retaining Jensen removes one question mark on the offensive line, and the worst case scenario then is to find a RT, although we aren't forced. Letting Jensen go and we have to retool our oline on 1-2 spots again next season.

Also, as DeCosta said, the value at WR seems to be in the second round. So far, I think I would be comfortable picking Ridley, Sutton, Kirk, Washington, Gallup, Miller, Burnett there - and I am probably forgetting someone.

If we got Jensen locked down, a receiver in the 2. round, we have the option of picking BPA in the first round and then adding offense whereever the value is in the draft.

Btw. Nick Orr actually looks quite promising. I'm going to look at him a little more. Pierces brother though doesn't seem athletic enough to make an NFL roster. Too sluggish and straigh linish and never look really smooth on the field.

The problem I have with this, is that the ravens are known to get quality play out of late round picks on the o line. Jensen wasnt even slated to be the starter last year, and everyone was concerned on how well he would play. The ravens can easily replace him, either with someone on the roster or VIA late mid round pick. Now WR has been a thorn in the ravens side for years, so if you have a chance to sign a high end FA like Landry, you do everything you can get him on the team

[Danand]

I really don't get how we can ignore the fact, that we had huge huge issues on the offensive line for several years - especially when players go down with injuries. We were really lucky, that Jensen in his final year elevated his play. We proved that Hurst and Skura could get significantly better, but they were never above average still. If people accept average to above average oline play, they also accept that we are going to struggle.

Flacco could produce better when the oline played better, why go away from building a strong oline to more unknowns, just to get a wide receiver who will command more money?

[paraven]

22 minutes ago, Danand said:

I really don't get how we can ignore the fact, that we had huge huge issues on the offensive line for several years - especially when players go down with injuries. We were really lucky, that Jensen in his final year elevated his play. We proved that Hurst and Skura could get significantly better, but they were never above average still. If people accept average to above average oline play, they also accept that we are going to struggle.

Flacco could produce better when the oline played better, why go away from building a strong oline to more unknowns, just to get a wide receiver who will command more money?

O line will be ok without Jensen, just like our o line was ok this year without Wagner

[DontTazeMeBro]

I wouldn’t mind James Daniels and one of Isaiah Wynn/Will Hernandez/Mike McGlinchey with the first 2 picks

Have

Stanley-Lewis-Daniels-Yanda-McGlinchey

or

Stanley-Wynn/Hernandez-Daniels-Yanda-Lewis

[DreamKid]

8 hours ago, diamondbull424 said:

I wish we were getting Mike Gesicki here, but like you said you didn’t think he would be available, which I can understand. But if he somehow made it to our third round pick, I’d easily slot him there and then go after Burnett with our comp selection. When I watch Thomas on tape, I just don’t get excited. In fact, I don’t really get excited by any of this class of TEs very much, but when I do, it’s usually by Gesicki and Goedert.

Gesicki is a beast, I don't view him not playing inline as a weakness either, I'll take a reliable flex TE any day. Which isn't to say he couldn't develop into a decent blocker, he very well could. Pitta wasn't much of a blocker and look at all the damage Flacco did with him, their connection converted many an important down for us. It isn't too late for Flacco to find love again, Gesicki is a Jersey kid like Joe, there could be some chemistry there.

A third round with Gesicki and Burnett would be amazing if we could swing it. Deploying both on the field at the same time would give us an interesting attack.

 

[Danand]

15 hours ago, paraven said:

O line will be ok without Jensen, just like our o line was ok this year without Wagner

Thomas needed a lot of help, that Wagner didn't. I can't see the reason to add insecurity to the offensive line after we just 1 year seemed to have some good oline coaches who developed players.

Eagles just won a super bowl with what was likely the best oline in the league. I can't see a reason to not imitate that.

[paraven]

2 hours ago, Danand said:

Thomas needed a lot of help, that Wagner didn't. I can't see the reason to add insecurity to the offensive line after we just 1 year seemed to have some good oline coaches who developed players.

Eagles just won a super bowl with what was likely the best oline in the league. I can't see a reason to not imitate that.

Do they win without Alshon?